MaMiya 6 Model 1
Right from the start, Mamiya pursued innovation. Its
very first camera, a 6x6cm ‘folder’, incorporated
back-focusing at the film plane.MaMiya elCa 35
The first Japanese-made camera to have match-needle metering.MaMiya 35 Model 1
Back focusing was also incorporated into Mamiya’s first
35mm camera.MaMiya Flex C2 ProFessional
A major milestone in the history of film cameras, the Mamiya Flex
C2 Professional (1958) was the first twin lens reflex (TLR) with
interchangeable lenses.Digital Imaging. This is now
wholly owned by Phase One
and the original Mamiya camera
factory now builds its current ZF
platform. Phase One subsequently
combined Mamiya with another
of its subsidiaries, Leaf, to create
the MamiyaLeaf brand which, for a
while, had its own line of high-end
digital capture products (originating
from Leaf-designed backs).
However, the latest MamiyaLeaf
digital backs are rebadged Phase
One models and the all-new ZF
camera body provides much more
integration than the last of the
Mamiya 645AF platforms whichessentially dates back to the late
1990s (although it’s still available
currently). As the digital medium
format camera market continues to
evolve – especially with the arrival
of the mirrorless systems from
Fujifilm and Hasselblad – it’s hard
to see Phase One maintaining two
product lines which are essentially
the same. Consequently, it’s
hard to see a future for Mamiya
because it simply makes more
sense for Phase One to use its
own branding on whatever it has
planned for the future.
As time goes on, the
remarkable achievements ofMamiya – especially in medium
format cameras – will start to be
forgotten which is a great pity
because, as you’ll now read, it’s a
distinguished history.in The Beginning
Mamiya Camera Company Limited
was established in Tokyo in May
1940 by Seiichi Mamiya who was
a camera designer and Tsunejiro-
Sugawara who funded the new
business. The fledgling company’s
first product was the original
Mamiya Six, a 6x6cm folding-
type rangefinder camera which
incorporated the world’s first back-focusing arrangement. Right from
the start, Mamiya was innovative.
Back-focusing is achieved by
adjusting the focal plane – and
hence the film frame – forwards
or backwards with the advantages
that it’s quicker and allows for
better close-up capabilities. The
Mamiya Six stayed in production
for nearly 20 years – with various
revisions along the way, including
changing to the numerical 6 model
number in 1947 – achieving a
volume of nearly 400,000 units.
It funded Mamiya’s diversification
into its first 6x6cm twin lens reflex
(TLR) design, its first 35mm RFCLASSICS MaMiya
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